


Couple of Duds

by DestinyFreeReally



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-19 07:02:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11892522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DestinyFreeReally/pseuds/DestinyFreeReally
Summary: "It occurred to me that I've never been anyone's husband," Will confessed, shrugging tension from his shoulders, and was thrown a little by the lopsided smile Mac aimed at him."You haven't?" Laughing again, Mac ducked her head, teasing him wasn't a very good show of seriousness-solidarity. "Go on, you've never been anyone's husband..." She prompted, and he nodded back into his train of thought.





	Couple of Duds

     Fiddling with the rock on her finger, Mackenzie watched Will sign off the Thanksgiving broadcast and stalk wordlessly into his office. After wrapping up her duties in the studio, she followed him.

     "What was that... _thing_ , in the middle of the broadcast?" She asked, pushing her way into his office. About twenty-five minutes into the show, Mac counted Will back in after a commercial break, and she'd had to call his name repeatedly to get him to acknowledge he was on-air.

      He was already out of his suit, sitting at his desk, and he knew she was going to ask about it, but really he didn't think he was out of it for that long.

     "What thing? There was no... _thing_." Will eased out of his chair, and leaned on the corner of his desk, tugging her to him; her, and her skeptical-looking face.

     "Not even a lame excuse? Just out and out denial? Alright, spit it out, McAvoy, what is it?" Reaching behind him, Mac put her pad down on his desk, leaning her weight against him, leaning her slight frame against his full one.

     "It's just that..." Will rubbed his knuckles against the underside of his chin, looking for the right words.

     "Seriously, what is it, you're being weird," Mac was torn between laughing at his hopefully-benign concern, and being seriously concerned herself.

     "Well, we're engaged, you know," he started, wrapping one arm around her waist.

     "I was informed about that, yes," Mac let her laugh out, at last. If this is about the invitations she couldn't decide on...

     "You're being cute-Mac now, but I really need serious-Mac for a second, honey." Cupping her cheek, Will brought her forehead close, kissed above her eyebrow, and smiled. "Because, you see the _thing_ , during the broadcast-"

     "Five full seconds of dead-air on national television, and I can be serious and cute at the same time, thank you." Mac bit her lip at his glare, and pulled her body weight off of him, attempting to be serious. "Continue."

     "It occurred to me that I've never been anyone's husband," Will confessed, shrugging tension from his shoulders, and was thrown a little by the lopsided smile Mac aimed at him.

     "You haven't?" Laughing again, Mac ducked her head, teasing him wasn't a very good show of seriousness-solidarity. "Go on, you've never been anyone's husband..."She prompted, and he nodded back into his train of thought.

     "You know women with bad husbands, right? Like not even abusive or nasty just like; what if you got a dud? Okay, you're laughing way too much for this to be a serious conversation." Placing his hands on shoulders sobered her a little, and Will sighed, "I just realized, I've never really seen anyone actually be a very good husband, you know? Asking you to marry me was an incredibly selfish act, because I love you like crazy and I want you, but what if I'm like-"

     "A dud?" Mac tried not to be dismissive, but five seconds of dead-air for whether or not he was going to be a good husband; the conversation was bordering on ridiculous and Mac wasn't sure how to shut down this line of thought without being dismissive.

     "Exactly!" Finally satisfied she was listening, Will relaxed.

     Straightening, Mac tucked loose strands of hair behind her ears, and tried to think of how to explain to him how wrong he was. It's something she's made a career of, but his eyes were on her, big, and blue, and worried, and she didn't like that.

     "Do you think I'm intelligent?" Looking up at him, Mac still had to fight the smile off her face.

     "I think you're brilliant, honey."

     "Well then why on earth would I marry a dud?" She smiled satisfied, and leaned up to kiss him. "Besides, you were a great boyfriend, remember? So it's probably more of that, but like. Forever, I think? Plus, if maybe you are a dud, Brian Jennings or maybe Anderson Cooper will still take my calls."

     Earning herself a fresh glare, Mac sensed triumph in her grasp.

     "Hey, kids," Charlie strolled in, his post-show drink in his hand. "What the fuck was that thing in the middle of the show? You went quiet for like five seconds, I thought the monitor froze."

     "It was nothing-" Will started, but Mackenzie interrupted.

     "Will decided to have an on-air crisis about whether or not I'm gonna end up with a bad husband," Mac teased.

     Will wondered if it was her voice that made everything he did sound ridiculous, because he knew he was a reasonable man; it had to be her voice.

     "But you're marrying _him_ ," Charlie teased back, but saw Will's face set, determined against being teased out of this. Passing his drink off to Will, Charlie stuffed his hands into his pockets.

     "Look, I've... My dad, was a worse husband than he was a dad, and I feel like I've just... never seen someone actually do it well before. You don't see too many good husbands walking around, is all I'm saying, and if we're engaged to be husband and wife, it's very important to me that I know it's possible." Will held his hands up, his point made, and took a sip from Charlie's half-drained glass.

     "Charlie's a good husband, right Charlie? Just do what he does, Will." Mac patted his shoulder, and started gathering her things.

     "Charlie's drunk all the time," Will pointed out, saluting the glass in his hand.

     "I'm still a good husband," amused, Charlie shook his head. "Mac's brilliant, she wouldn't have said yes to marrying you if you were gonna turn out to be a crappy husband."

     Smile cranked to eleven, Mac barely kept herself from sticking her tongue out at Will. When Charlie left, Will just shook his head.

     "I'm gonna be a really good wife, you know that?" Mac slipped herself between Will's arms, pressing her lips up to his. "And you're gonna be a great husband, and everyone we know will be consumed by jealousy that they don't have us for spouses."

     "Anderson Cooper's gay," Will felt the need to point out, kissing her again.

     "So, if I'm a bad wife, you call him, then." Ducking out of his grasp, Mac laughed; getting her coat on. "Right now, can we go home and be really good fiances? I heard somewhere, that really good engagements feature lots of midnight pizza and light beers." Smile spreading across her face, Will just nodded, and held her hand the whole way home.


End file.
